


In This Respect

by Hiniwalay



Series: For the liveliness of your mind, I did [1]
Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: British insults, Canon Compliant, Darcy will Tolerate this, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Humor, One Shot, Romance, hooray for vocabulary, i think, if a little time-traveled in the slang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiniwalay/pseuds/Hiniwalay
Summary: Elizabeth finds a dictionary. Oneparticularpiece of slang rivets her attention.
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy & Colonel Fitzwilliam (Pride and Prejudice)
Series: For the liveliness of your mind, I did [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083602
Comments: 10
Kudos: 127





	In This Respect

“ _Dis_ ,” recited Elizabeth. Despite the heavy tome she held, her posture was regal on the settee. “D-I-S. Less commonly, _diss_ with a double _‘s’_.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked at her curiously but did not interrupt.

“Slang. To treat with disrespect or contempt; insult. Or, to find fault with; criticize.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy, who had initially listened with interest, then with growing trepidation, swallowed.

His beautiful betrothed arched an eyebrow, eyes glinting with challenge. “Oddly familiar, is it not?”

Richard, the prat, guffawed. “Did you not know, Miss Elizabeth? The word was _named_ for Darcy. It is an acronym, you see. D-I-S. _Darcy In Society_. Or, D-I-S-S, _Darcy In Social Scenery._ ”

As the Colonel congratulated himself on his wit with many wracking laughs and a knee slap, Darcy dignifiedly rolled his eyes. In a cool tone, he retorted, “I readily admit that I am uncomfortable in strange company, but I am not _that_ insulting.”

“I beg your pardon,” began Elizabeth with no small amusement. A smirk twitched at her lips. “I was once Miss _Not Handsome Enough to Tempt You_.”

“Ho!” cried Richard.

Darcy flushed. “Yes — well. There were extenuating circumstances.”

“So you confess your guilt, Darce?” pressed his git of a cousin, crossed between horror and glee. “Miss Bennet must be an _angel_ to have granted you her forgiveness!”

“I have received my penance,” muttered Darcy, “and am rightly disgraced.”

“Yes, you dolt,” Elizabeth laughed lightly, pushed the book off her lap, and kissed his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Definitions of “dis” as lifted from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, first known use in 1980. Unfortunately, Oxford’s own definition was less Darcyable.


End file.
